Brom meets Saint Patrick

Coocoo

Back again, with the last few stories of our holiday with Gera. And do you know, it is less than six weeks until we see her again! This time she will be coming over to see us.

This church dates from 1933

But you are wondering about Saint Patrick as we already had met him. However, Mara and Gera decided to see a bit more of him and we visited several sites that were connected with him. We visited a small church in Saul. 

When he arrived back in Ireland after getting the 'call', he landed close to Saul. The landowner was not happy at first, but he did convert in the end and gifted Patrick a barn, which became the first church. 

Two bathhouses

We visited Struell Wells where Patrick is said to have blessed the wells. They were already known for their healing powers before Patrick and it was a popular pilgrimage from the 16th until about the 19th century. 

Inside the women's bathhouse.
You would have to stand underneath the water!

The earliest records of Patrick tell of him spending a night at the wells and singing psalms and praying. Mara tried some water on her gammy knee and she thought it might have helped a bit. 

We saw the grave of Saint Patrick which is located in Downpatrick itself. According to legend, he was put on a cart pulled by an ox after his death close by and the ox was set free. Where he ended up was where Patrick would be buried. He is not on his own though: Saint Brigid and Saint Columcille (or Columba) were also reportedly buried there. The slab on top was placed in the early 1900's to stop pilgrims from taking earth from the grave.

Find the mistake!

In the church we got a little tour by one of the people who worked there. He told us that the cathedral that now stands at the site is not the first church on site, there having been several before. This one is a protestant one with absolutely lovely stained glass windows. 

The man who gave us the tour thought I had the best spot that day as I was tucked into Mara's shirt (she had left her coat behind in the car) and he even took a photo of me! I am famous!!

We were still not quite there!

The last thing we did that day was a climb that was hard. Very hard. It was steep and it was long, but it did pay off with a fantastic view of Saint Patrick. Well, a statue anyway. We couldn't read what it said on the base, as none of us can read Gaelic.

The path leading up was lined with crosses and there were several spots for contemplation and/or prayer. It even had a sort of platform where services could be held on special days. You can see it in the next photo.

And if you are wondering why March 17th is Saint Patrick's Day, it is because it is on that day that he passed away. The green is most likely nothing to do with him, but something that was invented centuries after his death. 

In the church in Saul